Bruins rally, but fall in OT
Blackhawks stop B’s winning streak
With the way things have been going, it was fair to expect a dramatic comeback effort from the Bruins in the third period on Thursday night.
Trailing the Blackhawks by two goals after two and by three just 17 seconds into the final frame, with the B’s backs again against the wall, they did it again, but fell short of the win, falling in overtime, 4-3.
“We know if we play hard, eventually our skill is going to take over and the puck is going to go in the net,” said Chris Wagner, who scored the second goal of the game. “Sometimes we’re not going to get the win, but usually we’re going to be in the game.”
Torey Krug tied the game with 2:33 to play in regulation, capping a furious threegoal comeback to help the Bruins earn a point. The B’s still haven’t gone a game without earning a point since their Nov. 8 defeat in Detroit, and haven’t lost in regulation at home all season.
“I’ve said it, I’ll say it again tonight, we’re not at 60 minutes,” said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “Our guys know that. We talked about it. Complacency, I would say no. Lack of urgency some nights, yes. We weren’t pushing as hard as we need to to get to our level.”
The Bruins surrendered their first shorthanded tally of the season to find themselves in an early hole, and 37 seconds later, that hole was doubly deep.
First, Ryan Carpenter found the scoreboard for the first time this season while the Bruins were on their second power play of the frame. With 1:46 left, Charlie McAvoy turned the puck over at the offensive blue line. Carpenter slid the puck to defenseman Connor Murphy, and his rebound off Tuukka Rask’s pads bounced to Carpenter, who put Chicago ahead.
David Pastrnak was sent to the penalty box for interference a few moments later, and the Blackhawks struck again, this time on the power play. Dylan Strome, in his first game back from injury, masterfully tipped in a shot from Erik Gustafsson to make it 2-0 with 1:09 left in the first.
A sleepy second period followed the first, with two power play chances for the Bruins going by the wayside.
The Blackhawks extended their lead to 3-0 just 17 seconds into the third period. Alex DeBrincat sniped a shot past Rask to put the Bruins in their first 3-0 hole all season.
Joakim Nordstrom responded with a goal against his former team 1:49 into the third. He picked up a rebound from a David Backes shot off of Robin
Lehner’s pads to make it a 3-1 contest.
John Moore went straight to the locker room following confrontation with Zack Smith with 8:14 left following Smith’s heavy check on Pastrnak. It was Moore’s first game back this season after offseason shoulder surgery. He returned with 6:20 left and went straight to the penalty box.
Wagner netted a shorthanded goal with 4:59 left in the third. With Charlie
Coyle in the box, Wagner surged into the offensive zone and beat Lehner to make it a 3-2 game.
Krug knotted the game at 3-3 with 2:33 left in the third period. The defenseman snuck down low and around the net and took a feed from Jake DeBrusk and buried his fourth goal of the season, forcing overtime.
The Blackhawks won it 54 seconds into the extra frame with Jonathan Toews netting a breakaway tally after Pastrnak
appeared to get hooked on the play to spring the speedy Chicago forward.
Going forward, earning a point is nice, and so is coming back, but the lack of a complete game remains a concern.
“Is that because of where we are, is that because of last year, is that because we feel like we’re a good enough team that we can hit the switch, it’s probably bits and pieces of all of those things, I’m not gonna deny it,” said Cassidy. “Our job is to make sure we don’t get complacent. I don’t think we have been.”
The Bruins conclude their five-game homestand Saturday night against the Avalanche before a three-game road trip early next week.